Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Last week, for the first time this year, an event other than the race for president was the No. 1 story. The crisis with Russia was the top story and campaign theme in a week when Barack Obama got more coverage, but John McCain may have gotten the better of it.
The critical policy issues, and almost every other element of the campaign, took a back seat to the vice-presidential selection process last week. The only other story to really break through was a flap that arose after John McCain had trouble keeping track of his real estate.
In most countries surveyed, majorities consider religion an essential part of their lives. However, younger people are generally less likely to say religion is very important to them. This is especially true in Western Europe, where relatively few young people say religion plays a key role in their lives, but the same pattern can be […]
For much of last week, the Democrats’ effort to make peace and reintroduce Obama to voters were the focal points of campaign coverage. How much success did John McCain have in suddenly stealing the media narrative?
Summary of Findings The upcoming Democratic National Convention is generating much more public interest than did the party’s convention four years ago. Fully 59% of Americans say they are interested in following what happens at the Democratic convention, up from 36% in 2004. Nearly a third (31%) say they are very interested, while 28% say […]